My Companion

A demon story

"Let me out." My companion says.

"No." I say outloud. My feet pound the pavement, running down alleys trying to lose my pursuers. I feel phantom claws scratching behind the scar tissue seal branded so many years ago on my flesh.

"You'll die if you don't." It whispers seductively into my inner ear. 

"Not if I lose them." I can hear the thud of my pursuers heavy steps catching up to me. 

"Not if you keep talking to yourself." It chuckles.

"Shut up!" I shout trying to drown out my companions voice. I turn a corner as the shadows of my pursuers close in. I am facing a stonewall to high to climb. 

"Dammit." No where to run, not only am I out numbered but even the smallest of the group chasing me is twice my size. My only weapon is my dads old pocket knife. If I fight I'm dead and probably worse before that. 

"You don't have to fight. Just let me out for a little bit. It's not like I can go far anyway." 

The gang, all four of them, round the corner. They are dressed in overalls and fatigues scavenged from the dead. Rough clothes for rough men. They have to be rough to survive this world. Most of them wield clubs with nails and other pieces of jagged metal hammered into them. The leader has a shotgun. He smiles a yellow toothed predators smile. 

I pull my dads knife from my pocket and flick the pathetically short blade open. The leader shakes his head points the shot gun at me.

"Lady you know how this is gonna go down. If you fight we'll really hurt you. You cooperate and show my boys a good time we'll take care of you." 

"Now or never." My companion says only to me. As the leader of the gang approaches. 

"Fine." I reply. I begin unbuttoning my shirt. The leaders wolfish smile widens until he sees the seal branded only chest, stopping in his tracks.

"What the hell?" He says. 

"Boy ain't you right on the money." I take the knife to my chest and split the seal in half. Hot blood runs down my chest and I fall to my knees screaming. Their is a hellish roar as long jagged claws pull my chest apart impossibly wide. The long muscled arms of my companion pulls himself up away from me a black horned head followed by bat like wings. My pursuers stand frozen with fear as my companion. Extracting himself fully from myself standing well over a head taller than the tallest of the gang.

The leader finding his courage fires a blast from his weapon hitting my companion square in the chest. The pellets pierce his supernatural flesh spilling blood that burns and smolders on the concrete floor of the alley.

"Now let's have some fun." My liberated companion says jumping on the screaming gang leader, knocking the pump action shot gun from his grasp. There is a wet crunching sound as the demon bites into his skull. One of the gang members gathers his courage and runs screaming at my companion with his nail studded club high above his head. A clawed hand darts out grabbing the man by his throat and flinging him over the winged creatures back. The scream is cut short when the body slams into the stone wall. I spare a look back as the man hits the ground behind me. His body is twisted unnaturally like a blood soaked pretzel. 

My companion is feasting on the guts of another of the gang members. Their is no fourth body the last must of fled. He wont get far. 

My companion turns to me, his eyes orbs the color of smoldering coal. He gulps down the intestines on one of his victims.

"Let me play with the last one before you seal me back?" 

I do not answer I just sink to the ground exhausted. My companion unfurls his large bat wings, kicking a gust of wind as they carry him into the night.

"I should of gotten an exorcism."